Jabari Byrd, an African American student at Shepard High school, was concerned he might not fit in with the other mostly white students enrolled in Advanced Placement classes.
“That was a real challenge for me,” said Byrd, a junior. “I noticed primarily white students in the classes.”
His counselor, Aminah Garcia, helped Byrd decide to take AP English with plans to take more AP classes next year. AP classes allow high school students to experience college classes along with earning college credits.
Garcia and two other minority counselors were hired last year by High School District 218 to recruit more minority students into AP classes. The initiative to find more minority students within the district, which also includes Richards and Eisenhower high schools, is beginning to pay off greatly, officials said.
“We have seen the number of our Latino students participating in AP courses increase by about 1.5 times, and the number of our African American students has just about doubled, said Anthony Corsi, director of assessment data. “The (new minority) counselors have been responsible for about half of that increase.”
The district in 2019-20 began a partnership with the organization Equal Opportunity Schools. The organization focuses on helping students of color and low-income individuals thrive in their postsecondary pursuits and life goals, among other things.
Students told the organization and high school staff there was a need for more counselors to help with socio-emotional and other issues regarding taking AP classes.
“There are students who are hesitant to take AP because they do not see themselves as an ‘AP Kid,’ whatever that looks like to them,” Garcia said. “Those are the students that I have the most transformative conversations with. When I help a student believe in themselves and stay in an AP class and realize their potential, it is very rewarding.”
Corsi said the counselors were hired for two main reasons: retention efforts and to assist nontraditional students with postsecondary plans.
“Many of these students are the first in their families to consider college; they need extra help and support with determining which majors align to their interests, how to search for colleges, etc.,” Corsi said.
He said the district is thrilled the program is working.
“We had been working at trying to grow the program and include more students of color for a few years before our partnership with EOS, but we had pretty much reached a plateau before the partnership,” he said.
Crystal Torres, a senior at Shepard, took AP classes last year and two classes this year.
“I thought it would be a good challenge,” Torres said. “It was kind of scary because it was a college class. Mrs. Garcia made me feel more comfortable because she is an Hispanic woman. I just feel she can understand me better.”
Joseph Ruzich is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
